Sailing to Safari

Regenia Frazier brought her mother, Celestine, from rural Charlottesville to revisit Mathews County, around the bend from the York River. Years ago, Celestine took care of a wealthy man in a wheelchair who had multiple houses. We went out on a charter sail on the York River on a bright but chilly afternoon.

“We decided to get back to the water,” Regenia said, “so I could enjoy sailing and she could enjoy the birds.”

“We like the Safari Park near Lexington,” Celestine said. “It’s the only place in Virginia where you can drive and walk to see so many animals. They have the giraffes positioned so that you’re high up on a platform when you encounter them. They have tigers, elk and ostriches. My cousin once found a moose in his back yard.” I recalled the safari park at Kings Dominion Park from years ago.

We watched as ducks skimmed across the surface of the water as the sun began to set. A pelican dived several times for fish, apparently in vain. “It seems such a shame to go to all that trouble and miss,” Celestine mused.

Earlier in the day, they attended a flower arrangement presentation in Gloucester County. Celestine said, “Here you had 20 women who were all given the same flowers, three carnations and so forth, and we all came up with different arrangements. The idea was to use things in threes, such as three flowers and three branches, to come up with unique ideas. It was taught by David Pippen of Lewis Ginter Botanitcal Garden in Richmond. He does the Governor’s Mansion.”

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